1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blind spot eliminating devices and more particularly pertains to a new side view mirror and camera assembly for providing a mirror combined with a camera directed towards the blind spot of the mirror to allow a driver of a vehicle to view objects near the vehicle that are not viewable using the side view mirror alone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of blind spot eliminating devices is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,469 describes a horizontal cut stepped mirror mounted to the pillars of an automobile. Another type of blind spot eliminating device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,297 disclosing a side view mirror assembly having a fixed mirror and a movable mirror. U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,227 discloses panoramic bi-directional mirrors aimed to the front and to the rear of the driver's field of view. U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,935 discloses image capturing devices used to capture multiple images to the rear of a vehicle and a synthesized view formed from the captured images from the point of view of a single image capture device positioned forward of the vehicle.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device that combines a side view mirror to which drivers are already accustomed with an adjustable camera connected to a separate display for showing objects in the blind spots of the side view mirrors.